If this is to be the quality of your essays to come, stay away from Twitter/X for as long as needed. This was an inspirational and, dare I say, a Grace-filled piece of writing. Thank you C.Jay.
Crazy coincidence. Was just reading this today from Roche’s “A World Without Heroes”
In his Inaugural Lecture at Magdalene College, Cambridge, in 1954, De Descriptione Temporum, C.S. Lewis ventured his view that, "whereas all history was for our ancestors divided into two periods, the pre-Christian and the Christian, for us it falls into three--the pre-Christian, the Christian, and what may reasonably be called the post-Christian." He went on,
"...it appears to me that the second change is even more radical than the first. Christians and Pagans had much more in common with each other than either has with a post-Christian. The gap between those who worship different gods is not so wide as that between those who worship and those who do not."
Many are recognizing this. We have reached the end of a very long experiment in shuttering ourselves off from the divine in a way that no prior human civilization ever thought possible.
I ask because of the folkishness I see here and in that book, the way it describes the transition from First to Second world (in Rieff's terminology) and because I remember Gottfried describing it as "one book he recommends to everybody" in a Chronicles podcast with you.
If this is to be the quality of your essays to come, stay away from Twitter/X for as long as needed. This was an inspirational and, dare I say, a Grace-filled piece of writing. Thank you C.Jay.
That's kind, thank you. I think they will be quality, and hopefully improve over time.
Crazy coincidence. Was just reading this today from Roche’s “A World Without Heroes”
In his Inaugural Lecture at Magdalene College, Cambridge, in 1954, De Descriptione Temporum, C.S. Lewis ventured his view that, "whereas all history was for our ancestors divided into two periods, the pre-Christian and the Christian, for us it falls into three--the pre-Christian, the Christian, and what may reasonably be called the post-Christian." He went on,
"...it appears to me that the second change is even more radical than the first. Christians and Pagans had much more in common with each other than either has with a post-Christian. The gap between those who worship different gods is not so wide as that between those who worship and those who do not."
Many are recognizing this. We have reached the end of a very long experiment in shuttering ourselves off from the divine in a way that no prior human civilization ever thought possible.
Nothing worse than jumping to a footnote with great expectation, only to find an IOU.
Look forward to the maturity of the promise.
I aim to displease!
You and me both
Have you read The Ancient City C.Jay?
I ask because of the folkishness I see here and in that book, the way it describes the transition from First to Second world (in Rieff's terminology) and because I remember Gottfried describing it as "one book he recommends to everybody" in a Chronicles podcast with you.
This is a prompt for future essays I guess.
It's good to see you writing long form again!
I've read it! Eventually I'd like to extrapolate some of its themes.